Molecular Dynamics and Mode of Transmission of Koala Retrovirus as It Invades and Spreads through a Wild Queensland Koala Population

ABSTRACT: The recent acquisition of a novel retrovirus (KoRV) by koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) has created new opportunities for retroviral research and new challenges for koala conservation. There are currently two major subtypes of KoRV: KoRV-A, which is believed to be endogenous only in koalas from the northern part of Australia, and KoRV-B, which appears to be exogenous. Understanding and management of these subtypes require population level studies of their prevalence and diversity, especially when coinfected in the same population, and investigations of their modes of transmission in the wild. Toward this end, we studied a wild Queensland koala population of 290 animals over a 5-year period and investigated the prevalence, diversity and mode of transmission of KoRV-A and KoRV-B. We found KoR

SUBMITTER: Quigley BL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5809739 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature